Site sold for airport expansion

Agreement with landowner ends more than a year of bargaining, waiting for both sides.

Agreement with landowner ends more than a year of bargaining, waiting for both sides.

March 18, 2006|JOSHUA STOWE Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- The haggling has been "a big hassle," but Robbie Anagnostou has agreed to sell a piece of property needed for the airport's expansion project. The agreement, reached earlier this week, marks the end of a process that began well more than a year ago, when the St. Joseph County Airport Authority made its initial offer on the property. "I'm tired of messing with them," the Mishawaka Realtor said Friday. "You can't argue with them. They're gonna end up winning. And they want you to know you better accept their first offer." The land is selling for $40,000, according to Anagnostou and Mark Boveri, an attorney for the Airport Authority. That's less than the initial offer, which she refused, but more than an appraisal the Airport Authority cited when it rejected her later attempt to accept that first offer. It all started in October 2004 when the Airport Authority offered $45,000 for the property. Anagnostou declined it. During an Airport Authority meeting in December 2005, John Schalliol, the airport's executive director, said that after an appraisal indicated the property was worth $35,000, Anagnostou said she would accept the initial offer of $45,000. The Airport Authority promptly voted to reject her counter-offer. After that, the matter went to court-ordered mediation, which Boveri characterized as "structured negotiations." The mediation doesn't require both sides to reach an agreement, Boveri said, adding that the landowner always has the option of requesting a jury trial to contest the amount of compensation; such a trial does would not prevent the Airport Authority from taking the property. Anagnostou said she agreed to the sale because she'd tired of dealing with the Airport Authority. "Anybody that's gonna fight them. I don't know what to say," she said. "I'm just glad to be done with it." The property, at 23887 W. Edison Road in St. Joseph County, could've originally sold for $65,000 to $70,000, Anagnostou said, adding that she had once hoped to live there when she retired. It included a lot occupying about an acre and a house, which has since been torn down for the airport project, about 1,200 square feet in size, she said. The house had a basement, two bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms, she said, as well as an attached garage and an unattached one. The appraisal Schalliol cited was significantly lower because it came after vandals struck the property in early 2005, Anagnostou said. Vandals stole antiques from the house, she said, and broke picture frames, tore out cabinets, and shattered windows. Anagnostou said she paid workers to clean up the property before seeking an appraisal, which she said indicated it was worth about $46,000. "I see the whole thing as a loss of time and effort," she said. "I'm done with it." Staff writer Joshua Stowe: jstowe@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6359